Growing Snowflowers

Guinness chocolate cupcakes



As promised here is the recipe! These are so elegant and simple to make, the chocolate & Guinness are extremely complimentary to each other but each flavor still stands on it's own! Yummo! Also a friend just sent a recipe for Guiness CAKE...if I try it and it rocks, I'll post the recipe here! I'm thinking you could make a 'black & tan' version by making the icing with a shot of dark espresso in place of half the cream...also my icing was a bit runny becuase I used 12 oz of cream cheese by accident...for stiffer icing, just follow the recipe!

1 bottle (12 ounces) Guinness stout
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for garnish
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Frosting
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 pound confectioner's sugar

cocoa powder or nutmeg for dusting

Makes 24
Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Guinness, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the sour cream.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness mixture.

Butter 24 muffin tins and divide the batter among the muffin tins.

Bake 25 minutes until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out of the tins.

Make the frosting:
Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream. Slowly mix in the confectioner's sugar.

Top each cupcake with a heap of frosting and dust with cocoa.